Curriculum

Extreme Weather Unit

In this unit, students gain experience analyzing data to evaluate extreme weather events. They build an understanding that interpreting extreme weather depends on understanding what is typical or expected for weather in a particular location at a particular time of year. Climate data are essential for evaluating current weather conditions and events in a broader context. Students explore extreme weather events in their local area and on the summit of Mount Washington, and they learn the importance of data collection for community preparedness and emergency response and mitigation.

Unit Question: What is Extreme Weather?

What kinds of weather does Mount Washington experience? What factors contribute to the harsh conditions there?
How are data used to evaluate weather to determine if it’s extreme?
How can communities prepare for and respond to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events?

These materials are licensed for your use under Creative Commons CC BY-SA.

Extreme Weather Unit Overview (Google Doc)

Lesson 1: Exploring Extreme Weather

This lesson launches the unit by inviting students to apply their learning from the Local Unit as they begin to explore the concept of extreme weather. Students reflect on and discuss their own experiences with extreme weather and think about the information or data they may need to assess whether a weather event is “extreme.”

Students are then introduced to Mount Washington in the White Mountains of New Hampshire as a place that some people have described as the “Home of the World’s Worst Weather.” Through text, videos, and discussion, students learn about some of the characteristics of the mountain and the kinds of weather experienced there. The lesson also connects to careers in science by highlighting the role of the observers who work on Mount Washington.

Lesson 2: Temperature on Mount Washington

Students explore the temperatures on Mount Washington for two 48-hour periods: February 15-16, 2015, and February 15-16, 2016. They investigate the concept of “extreme weather” by interpreting and creating data visualizations of temperatures on the mountain, and compare their data to 30-year climate data. Finally, they make a claim, supported by data, about whether the temperatures during a specific weather event were extreme.

Lesson 3: Air Masses and Temperature

This lesson lays the foundation for understanding the role of air masses in helping to explain some of the temperature data discoveries students made in Lesson 2. Students share their initial ideas about the causes of temperature variations and fluctuations on Earth, then make predictions about how air masses move. They view a demonstration of a model of how cool and warm air masses move using colored water of varying temperatures. Students also explore relationships between visual representations of temperature in graphs and maps. 

Lesson 4: Wind on Mount Washington

Students create data visualizations of wind speeds on Mount Washington on February 15–16, 2015, to investigate the concept of “extreme weather.” They also look at data across a 30-year period as an opportunity to evaluate how their data compare to 30-year climate data. They conjecture about relationships between temperature and other weather variables and learn how scientists measure wind speed on Mount Washington.

All lessons are free! To access lessons 5–8, please register.

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